Door mounting



D OOR MOUNT ING Filed Dec. 17, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Ucik, 2% 193%. W. R. RENWICK m sw w DOOR MOUNTING Filed Dec. 17, 1934 2 Sheets- Sheet 2 IIIIIAYII Yllln III Patented Oct. 27, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 6 Claims.

This invention relates to doors and particularly to hanging and operating mechanism therefor whereby both a swinging and a lateral movement is imparted thereto.

It is a general object of the present invention to provide novel and improved door mechanism of the type described.

More particularly it is an object of the invention to provide mechanism for an easy opening door whereby the door both swings about a vertical axis and moves transversely of the doorway.

An important feature of this invention consists in the provision of operating mechanism for a door of the type described which is entirely concealed in the door frame.

Another important feature of the invention resides in the use of a carriage hidden in the head frame to support the door and operable by the swinging of the door to move it laterally of the doorway.

Another feature of the invention resides in the use of a flexible connection between the upper and lower pivots of the door to cause them to slide synchronously toward one jamb as the door is swung.

In the accompanying drawings which illustrate the invention,

Fig. 1 is an elevation of a door and frame for the doorway including the devices of the present invention;

Fig. Zis a fragmentary horizontal section taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1 and on an enlarged scale;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary horizontal section through the head frame and upper operating mechanism for the door, taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is vertical section taken on line 44 of Fig. 3 and showihg a portion of the door;

Fig. 5 is a vertical section taken at right angles to that of Fig. 4 and on line 55 of that figure;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary vertical section on line 6-6 of Fig. 1;

Fig. '7 is a fragmentary vertical section taken on line 1-1 of Fig. 2, and,

Fig. 8 is a detail view showing the fastening of the tape to the carriage.

In Fig. 1 of the drawings I0 is a door ofany desired construction adapted to close a doorway defined by a sill ll, jambs l2 and I3 and a head frame l4. The door has upper and lower horizontal edges 15 and I6, respectively, a vertical edge I1 adapted to swing and move away from the jamb l2 toward the observer of Fig. l to permit passage through the doorway and a vertical edge I8 adapted to move a lesser degree from the jamb l3 and in the opposite direction from edge ll. The door swings about an axis indicated by the dot and dash line 9 on pivots which also move transversely of the doorway toward the jamb [3 as the door is swung.

The bottom pivot l9, as shown in Fig. 6, has an enlarged end fitting in an aperture in the block 20 which is slidably mounted in groove 2| in the sill II. The reduced upper end [9 of the pivot fits in an aperture in the lower edge of the door and'the surrounding washer 8 provides operating clearance as well as support for the door.

The upper pivot comprises a shaft 23, the lower end of which is rigidly and non-rotatively secured to the door. It projects through a slot 24 in the sofiit 25 of the head frame of the doorway. The structural portion of this frame includes also the vertical members 26 and 21 joined to the sofiit and like it formed of steel plates. The ends of this frame are suitably supported in the masonry or other material of the building and the whole door frame may be covered by suitable trim 28 in conformity to the architecture of the building.

A pair of tracks are'secured one to the inner face of each vertical member of the head frame, track 30 being plain and 3| including on its vertical face a toothed rack 3|. Mounted to slide on the upper surfaces of the tracks and snugly between the members 26. and 21 is the carriage 33 having suitable side and end walls 33' and 33" and upper and lower plates 33 and 33 The pivot shaft 23 passes rotatively through both of these plates and is equipped with a nut 34 and locknut 35 to support it from the upper carriage plate. A gear 36 is keyed to rotate with the shaft just below the upper plate and meshes with pinion 31 journalled on stud 38 and integral with gear 39 meshing with pinion 40. This pinion is keyed to the sleeve of gear 4| which meshes with the rack 3|. The sleeve is journalled on shaft 23.

A rod 43 secured to the left end of the carriage passes through cross plate 44 secured to the vertical members 26 and 21 and forms the piston rod of the combined closer and check for the door. This comprises the cylinder 45 mounted between plate 44 and a similar plate 46 and fitted with the piston 41 attached to the end of rod 43. Be-

tween the piston and plate 44 a helical spring 1 surrounds rod 43 and biases the carriage to the left. Air compressed by the piston on moving to the left under the action of the spring checks the closing of the door and is vented through screw valve 49 accessible for adjustment through hole 50 in the sofiit.

The operation of the door as thus far described is as follows: when the left edge I! of the door is moved manually in a counter-clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 3, the shaft 23 and its gear 36 are likewise so rotated and the motion is multiplied by the gear train and the same directional rotation, but at higher speed, is imparted to gear 4| which thus draws the carriage to the right at a speed proportional to the swinging movement of the door. The gearing is so arranged that upon 90 of swing the pivots are moved to a position to locate the face of the door substantially against the right jamb l3, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3.

In order to synchronize the movement of the upper and lower pivots they are connected together by a flexible member such as steel tape 52 which is secured to the sliding block 20, as seen in Fig. '7, passes around pulley 53 at the lower right corner of the door frame, up through the right jamb, over pulley 54, horizontally above the soflit, is twisted to clear the shaft 23, passes over the inclined pulley 55 mounted on plate 44 and is secured to the carriage by inclined block 56, as shown in Fig. 8. Thus as the carriage moves to the right so does the lower pivot and at the same rate of speed. This tape can be eliminated if the carriage and gear mechanism is duplicated at the bottom of the door, omitting the closer-check there if desired.

The right hand jamb may be composed of two angle bars 60 and 6| suitably secured to the masonry and to the head framing and sill and enclosed in the casing 62 which is shaped as at 63 to conform to the movement of the inner edge of the door which has a mating configuration.

Where the synchronizing tape 52 is used, as shown in Fig. 1, some mechanism is desirable to maintain it tight during closing of the door and such mechanism is shown in Figs. 1 and 2. A bar 65 is pivoted at 66 just within the casing 62, projects out through an opening therein, lies in a channel in the face of the door at the lower edge and has its outer end pivoted to the door by pin 61. The length of this bar and its point of attachment to the door are so adjusted that the lower edge of the door partakes of the same movement as the upper edge and on opening tensions the spring 68 connected between the extension 69 on bar 65 and a ring on the casing 63. When the door is released, after opening, this spring tends to move the door closed and maintains the tape taut to synchronize the movement of the upper and lower pivots.

To permit the door to be entirely removed without disturbing any of the mechanism or the frame, the shaft 23 is permanently secured to a bar 10 which is so shaped that it fits in an undercut groove H in the upper edge of the door and reaches to the inner edge 18 thereof where it is secured by the overlapping head 12 of a screw inserted into the edge of the door. On removing this screw and the pin 67 and slightly opening the door, it can be slid off of the bar and lifted from the bottom pivot I9.

Since substantially all parts of the mechanism, including the closer and check are concealed, the door and frame are adaptable for any type of architectural treatment and decoration. No special construction is required for bolts, locks, handles or push-bars. Very little maintenance is required since the gears of the carriage can be packed in grease to last for a long time,

The door and frame can be assembled com-' plete at the manufacturers plant; the only work necessary at the building being the setting of the vertical steel angles of the frame in suitable recesses in the floor and attaching the steel head frame to the masonry by means of expansion bolts or where possible the recessing of the frame into the masonry. Where the door is used within a building the mechanism in the jamb can be eliminated by duplicating the carriage at the bottom as previously mentioned since the question of water tightness does not arise.

The doors can be used in groups as the mechanism in the jambs takes up so little room horizontally that narrow mullions between doors are possible. Thus with slight modifications the mechanism might be applied to casement windows.

A door with the mechanism just described opens in such a way that it presents minimum resistance to outside or inside air pressure, thus making it easy to open. For the same reasons it closes easily and will not remain open clue to differences in air pressure on its two sides.

The mechanism is especially adaptable for. automatic operation by the use of electricity, compressed air or a liquid. A simple electric motor probably offers the best solution of the problem as follows: after the door has been manually moved through a few degrees, a circuit is closed automatically to the motor, which by means of a flexible connection pulls the carriage toward the jamb until the door reaches open position when the circuit is broken and the spring returns the door to closed position.

What I claim is:

1. In a door pivoted for rotation in a doorway and about a vertical axis intermediate its width and laterally movable toward one jamb, in combination, a carriage, ways for said carriage extending transverse to the doorway, a vertical shaft pivoted on said carriage and non-rotatively secured to a horizontal edge of the door intermediate its width, a stationary rack extending parallel to said ways, gear means actuated by rotation of said shaft on opening movement of the door and engaging said rack to drive said carriage and door toward the jamb remote from the opening edge of the door.

2. In a door pivoted for rotation in a doorway and about a vertical axis intermediate its width and laterally movable toward one jamb, in combination, a carriage, ways for said carriage extending transverse to the doorway, a vertical shaft pivoted on said carriage and non-rotatively secured to a horizontal edge of the door intermediate its width, a stationary rack extending parallel to said ways, gear means actuated by rotation of said shaft on opening movement of the door and engaging said rack to drive said carriage and door toward the jamb remote from the opening edge of the door and combined guide and pivot means fpr the opposite horizontal edge of said door.

3. In a door pivoted for rotation in a doorway and about a vertical axis intermediate its width and laterally movable toward one jamb, in combination, a carriage, ways for said carriage extending transverse to the doorway, a vertical shaft pivoted on said carriage and non-rotatively secured to a horizontal edge of the door intermediate its width, a stationary rack extending parallel to said ways, gear means actuated by rotation of said shaft on opening movement of the door and engaging said rack to drive said carriage and door tending transverse to the doorway, a vertical shaft pivoted on said carriage and non-rotatively secured to a horizontal edge of the door intermediate its width, a stationary rack extending parallel to said ways, a gear journalled on said carriage and engaging said rack, a multiplying gear train between said gear and shaft and actuated by rotation of said shaft on opening movement of said door to move said carriage and door toward the jamb remote from the opening edge of the door.

5. In a door pivoted for rotation in a doorway and about a vertical axis intermediate its width and laterally movable toward one jamb, in combination, a carriage, ways for said carriage extending transverse to the doorway, a vertical shaft pivoted on said carriage and non-rotatively secured to a horizontal edge of the door intermediate its width, a stationary rack extending parallel to said ways, gear means actuated by rotation of said shaft on opening movement of the door and engaging said rack to drive said carriage and door toward the jamb remote from the opening edge of the door, combined guide and pivot means for the opposite horizontal edge of said door, a flexible connection between said carriage and guide, a pivot means toproduce synchronous movement thereof towards said jamb and a spring tensioned by such movement of the guide and pivot means to maintain said flexible connection taut during closing of the door.

6. In a door pivoted for rotation in a doorway and about a vertical axis intermediate its width and laterally movable toward one jamb, in combination, a carriage, stationary ways for said carriage extending transverse to the doorway, a vertical shaft pivoted on said carriage and non-rotatively secured to a horizontal edge of the door intermediate its width, a stationary rack extending parallel to said ways, gear means actuated by rotation of said shaft on opening movement of the door and engaging said rack to drive said carriage and door toward the jamb remote from the opening edge of the door, and a combined closer and check mounted between said ways and comprising a spring-pressed piston connected to said carriage.

WILLIAM R. RENWICK. 

